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Valkyrian Republic
Behold already the accomplishments of Man; behold how mere mortals have made a mockery of the plan the Pantheon of Order has for us. They conspire even now to take back control of the fate we stole from them; they seek to bring about an end to change and creation by the enslavement of mankind. How fragile those Gods are, that they require the obedience of mortals to further those ends. We defy their Order; we desire to liberate mankind from such slavery. Thus is the will of Chaos; that mortals be free to pursue their own ambitions, and to control their own destiny. The Gods of Order fear us; they know their own fate. We shall overcome them. — Captain Tribulis Legend of the founding of The Valkyrian Republic The region now governed by the Republic is generally believed to have first been home to small, unorganized villages of settlers from other kingdoms. These villages in time were all conquered by a vampire servant of Armok whose name has been lost to the ages; he went on to persecute the region’s people and demand ever more tribute in blood and wealth to further his conquests abroad. In response, the plans for popular uprising were born in secrecy by cults who by the cruelties of the tyrant’s rule came to devote themselves to Chaos in response. Among these cults was those of Corvos the first Grand Sorcerer, Dacius the first Reclusiarch, and Ignus the First Forge Lord. At a meeting between the cults, Corvos eventually determined that the best way to destroy the tyrant “would be to steal some of the Sun’s power away from the daytime and manifest it in the night”. Corvos noted in his explanation that the king had made a habit of emerging periodically from his lair to address his subjects and collect their offerings during his reign. These addresses had the effect of keeping his subjects in line through intimidation. Corvos realized that if the vampire was turned to ash before all of Valkyr, it would send a powerful message to not only the people of his homeland, but the entire realm. As fitting revenge, they would offer the king’s end in the form of a gift, as if it was yet another heirloom paid to their vampire overlord. Within it, however, would be the retribution of Man. Corvos set about to draw up plans for the device, creating a container of mirrors to reflect the light of the material Dacius would place inside. The chest would keep the The Eternal’s gift trapped when it remained closed, but when opened release a blinding explosion of radiant sunlight when opened. Dacius procured this enchanted material through an underground network of smugglers he had worked with to import forbidden knowledge from the outside world; the material did not merely reflect light, but emit light of the same nature that was shone on it. Ignus constructed the box, assembling the device and material before placing it in an ornate box he had constructed with great care and craftsmanship. Trapping the light of a sweltering summer’s day once the device was completed, the cults now only had to wait for the next demand of sacrifice. Within the week the box had been finished, the people of Valkyr were summoned by their king for yet another offering. That night, Corvos himself would step forward with his box, and lay it in the hands of the king. The king accepted the offering with great eagerness and little suspicion. Flinging the box open without hesitation, the servant of Armok sealed his fate. In a flash of The Eternal’s Light, the vampire was blinded and weakened, falling to his knees. The members of the cult among the people lept forward and revealed the weapons and implements they had concealed until this time; they overpowered the loyal remnant of the king’s guard by their numbers and the element of surprise. Surrounded by his former subjects, man’s last gift to the vampire would be a stake driven through his heart. Through the night, the people repaid the vampire years of torment that had been inflicted upon them, and when day broke those who had been loyal to the vampire had either fled, surrendered, or been killed in the fighting that had erupted on the night of the king’s death. The leaders of the Chaos cults, tasting freedom for the first time that had in many seasons, vowed to protect the liberty they had won from the clutches of darkness. The fight was not over yet; though they had won this battle, the enemies of Chaos had taken note of the reversal they had suffered in Valkyr. In the wake of this victory, a new government was established to unify the former realm of the vampire into The Valkyrian Republic. = Cities = Philosophy The Republic's prevailing philosophy is deeply rooted in reverence to Chaos aspects of The Wretched, The Hammerer, and The Lovely. The other aspects of Chaos are also revered by the population of the Republic; however the aforementioned aspects are held in special regard as the benefactors of the Republic and as their greatest allies against the forces of Order. A nation formed from rebellion against not only against a mortal tyrant but their immortal masters, the Valkyrian Republic is marked by a national spirit of individualism, humanism, and libertarianism. From The Wretched the Valkyrians derive their love of Freedom; the rebellious nature of their state and people being regarded as a human expression of madness and irrationality. These elements of The Wretched are regarded as a part of what prevents the Gods of Order from acting effectively against Mankind. This Valkyrian attitude can be expressed best by the following question: If we don't know what we are doing, how could our foes hope to predict us? From The Hammerer the Valkyrians derive their love of Change; Valkyrians see coup and revolution as the natural product of human freedom and as a means by which humanity can undo the plans of the Pantheon of Order. The world, according to Valkyrian thought, is constantly "reshaped in the forge" of The Hammerer, a metaphor for not only technological progress but societal change. Attributed to the current Grand Sorcerer, Amon, is the following quote: "The only certainty in life is change. The very passing of time itself is the embodiment of change, and the gods of Order fear it because they cannot control it. All that you see before you here in Ascalon was once the will of my god. Now, it is the will of Valkyr; of Man." From The Lovely the Valkyrians derive their love of Ambition; the Valkyrians see the success of their civilization as the product of a society that embraced ego and individualism as constructive elements of the human character, and not as something to be stamped out. In Valkyrian philosophy, acts of ambition are the ''raison d'être of creation, which is itself the product of Chaos' own ambitions. These sentiments do not exist isolated from one another; rather, they interact to form a distinct national identity and belief system. Freedom is born of revolution and resilience in the face of adversity; Change is moved by Mankind's ambitions and madness; Ambition is fulfilled by the madness of its carrier and sees to the progress of man. The Valkyrian Cults There are a multitude of cults within the mighty walls of Valkyr, each dedicated to a different Aspect, and each serving a different purpose. Some even provide specialist soldiers to the Valkyrian military, who are collectively referred to as Aspect warriors, due to their devotion to the specific tenets of their faith even in regards to war. The three largest cults are the Cult of Corvos, the Cult of Ignus, and the Cult of Dacius, devoted to the Mighty, the Hammerer, and the Wretched respectively. The Cult of Corvos Following in the footsteps of First Sorcerer Corvos, these ambitious scholars wield fearsome arcane powers borne from their own sheer strength of will in order to serve their own interests. Take heed, however, for those who fill the ranks of Valkyr's esteemed collegia have minds and wit as sharp and resilient as any Ignus blade. Their boundless ambition leads them not only to master the arcane, but to become clever diplomats and dangerous manipulators with a penchant for pulling the strings of fate to work in their favor. Many times throughout Valkyrian history have their sorcerers forseen the future from the patterns of the past and present. This cult's Aspect warrior is the Corvan Warlock, who wields mighty arcane power and advanced weaponry. Prior to an event known as The Collapse, when Silea Ravni as we know it suffered a critical existence failure, these Warlocks assisted Amon in relocating Valkyr far into the Aether, where their power is strongest. The only known remnant of the nation is the decaying forum of Ascalon's university, constructed around the Font of Change and the statue of Corvos which stands upon it. The Cult of Ignus Founded by the legendary smith and master of the forge, Ignus, this cult of craftsmen is responsible for the nigh-entirety of Valkyrian metallurgy, manufacturing, and industry. Among the Republic's primary exports are weapons and armor, and it is this unending task that the Forge Lord oversees. For these well-respected cultists, their role in Valkyr represents progress, for it is their mastery of the forge that will fill the nation's coffers and bring about the progress which the Hammerer most wholly represents. Ignus also arms and equips the Valkyrian Regimental Army, the first line of defense for the Republic. This cult's Aspect warrior is the Ignan Colossus; Lumbering, purposeful giants among men, the Colossi are equal parts siege master and siege breaker, carrying heavy weaponry and taking immense amounts of punishment from invaders and defenders. The Cult of Dacius Reclusiarch. This was the title taken by the notorious smuggler Dacius, and it was he who was able to secure the materials that brought about the vampire's demise. Dedicated to the Wretched, the Cult of Dacius is filled with the societal outcasts: the thieves, the murderers, the criminally insane. The cult is shunned because of its self-contradictory nature, and the Reclusiarch himself avoids society almost entirely. However, when the Reclusiarch does deign to speak, all the Republic stops to listen, as the cult seemingly has ties to all which is clandestine or illegal in Silea Ravni. Be it smuggling rings, slavery, or even assassination plots, the cult knows far more than it lets on. This cult's aspect warrior is the Dacian Deadeye. Shunning the use of armor in the favor of being swift and unseen, the Deadeyes are the assassins of the Republic. Gliding through the air on handmade wings, darting unseen through the wilderness, or crawling the tunnel networks, these murderous convicts carry Wind Carbines that are as quiet as they are deadly. Of all the forces of Valkyr, it is perhaps the Deadeye that is the most frightening, for legend has it that each one has given up their eyesight in exchange for unerring accuracy. That only the most heavily armored and well-protected individual can survive so much as a single shot from their whispering rifles seemingly lends credence to this fact and even Valkyrians themselves fear and respect these grim individuals.Category:Country Category:Current